


Flowers and Blueberry Muffins - Fame

by ServantOfMischief



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Christmas Fluff, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Hot Springs & Onsen, Jealous Ex-girlfriend, Media Coverage, Paparazzi, Rei is a student, Tsumugi isn't taking anyone's shit, happens after Tsumugi's birthday party in Flowers and Blueberry Muffins, relationship, supportive granny
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-12
Updated: 2019-03-12
Packaged: 2019-11-16 07:03:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18089675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ServantOfMischief/pseuds/ServantOfMischief
Summary: Rei realizes that just because Uta himself isn't a celebrity because of anything he has accomplished, yet, he is still the grandson of Yamagata Tsumugi, and therefore his private life isn't so private, when someone tips off the paparazzi that he's dating someone.





	Flowers and Blueberry Muffins - Fame

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ginkochama](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ginkochama/gifts).



> Flowers and Blueberry Muffins - The story of what happened after Tsumugi's birthday, and the return of one of Uta's ex-girlfriends.

It’s been a few weeks since Tsumugi’s birthday party, and Rei is walking down the streets holding a small pastry-box in her hands. It’s Uta’s birthday, so Rei has made him a treat to enjoy during lunch. A surprise in itself, as she hasn’t told him she’s coming by.

 

When she moves to open the door to the shop, she sees that he has a customer, so she just quietly slips in and waits. The first things she hears is Uta speaking, in such a bone-chilling voice she nearly freezes in place.

 

“Get out.” She looks up, about to ask what she has done to receive that kind of greeting when she enters, because she won’t stand for this kind of behaviour, when Rei realizes that he isn’t looking at her. Uta is glaring at the customer standing in front of the counter. She can’t remember seeing him like this, ever. There is no smile dancing on his lips, no amused crinkle around his eyes, but his thin brows are furrowed, and she can see actual anger on his face with the way his mouth twists downwards.

 

All this makes Rei wonder who this customer is.

 

“You’re being stubborn, Uta.” She’s a pretty woman, Rei thinks, as she turns half-way around with a roll of her eyes. Not a single strand of hair is out of place, and her make-up work looks incredible. She looks like a model. Perhaps she is.

 

“I want-“  She begins but the florist cuts her off.

 

“Get. Out.” He says coldly again and the woman huffs before striding out.

 

“You’ll realize that I’m right in the end.” Is the woman’s final words before she exits the shop, the clicking of her heels disappearing as the door closes behind her. Rei looks towards Uta, who sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. He looks tired, and the white-haired woman wonders if she should ask him if it’s okay for her to come back later, but she braves the waters and walks up to the counter.

 

“Hey, you okay?” He looks up, appears almost surprised to see her, as if he didn't see or hear her enter the shop, before nodding.

 

"Yeah, just some… yeah I’m okay.” He sighs again, and tries to muster a small smile. “Is there something you wanted, Rei-san?” She decides not to push the issue, so she holds out the box she brought with her for him to take. He blinks but accepts it and opens it. He stares at the contents blankly.

 

“Happy birthday.” She tells him. “I hope you like raspberry chocolate cupcakes, but if not, I’ll just have to make you something else-“ She manages to say before he walks around the counter and just hugs her close, face hiding in the crook of her neck.

 

“Uta-san?” Rei asks, one hand landing on his back, the other grabbing onto one of his arms. She’s not sure what is going on, who the woman is and what she’s done to make Uta so angry, but she’s not sure she can ask either. He heaves a sigh against her skin, before standing up straight again.

 

“I like chocolate and raspberries, thank you.” He says, and appears to be feeling a lot better already, but there is a tightness around his eyes that betray him.

 

“I don’t think I’m fit to keep anyone’s company right now, but can I come by later?” He asks and she nods.

 

“Yes, of course. I gave you a key for a reason.” She tries to joke, and to her credit he does breathe out a chuckle, short and quiet as it is.

 

“I’ll see you after I close shop then.” Rei takes that as her cue to leave, but she hugs him one more time and offers him a smile and a wave before she leaves. She feels like she has to give him that much at least, considering she wants to make him feel better and he is not having a good day. Which is too bad, because it is his birthday and he should be having a great day. So she decides to not make a big deal out of anything because she doesn’t think Uta will particularly enjoy her trying her best to just overshadow everything. When he comes by, she’ll have a cup coffee ready for him, and a shoulder to lean on if he wants to talk with her and explain what is going on, and who the woman in the shop is.

 

So when Uta unlocks the door around half past ten in the evening, she is already sitting on the couch, two steaming mugs of coffee sitting on the living-room table just waiting for him. He silently pulls off his jacket and scarf, and hangs them up on the hook before shuffling over and taking a seat. The kittens climb up onto the couch and swarms him, and Rei knows he’s not feeling better when he half-heartedly pets them and ignores the coffee. Rei says nothing, but reaches for her own cup and takes a sip, just watching him.

 

“You’re not going to ask?” He doesn’t even look up as he asks her and she shrugs with a hum.

 

“I figured you’d tell me yourself if you wanted to talk about it.” He releases a quiet chuckle, and Rei frowns, because he sounds so tired, and even a little bit sad.

 

“I’ll listen. I won’t say I’m not curious, but I’m not going to press the issue either.” For the longest time, he doesn’t say anything. He just plays with the kittens until they grow bored of him and jump off of him and disappear down the hall. He doesn’t move, doesn’t speak, doesn’t even look at her until her cup is nearly empty, and his is cold. Then he lays down, resting his head on her lap. He still says nothing, and she carefully brings one hand down to pull out his hair tie and brush through his hair. She knows he likes that, so she hope she finds the gesture comforting.

 

“You remember when I told you about my past experiences with dating?” It is hard not to, as it has only been a few weeks since he told her about it. Still, she nods and he continues. “That woman… She is one of the girls who dated me for granny’s money.” Rei halts her movements for a second, before continuing.

 

“What did she want?” Rei asks quietly and his eyes narrow the slightest bit.

 

“She said she wanted me back. As if it was obvious that I would agree.” Rei finds that an insulting demand. While Uta never went into great detail of what happened back then, he said enough to make Rei think that either the woman is stupid and never realized what it is that she did to him, or she’s just self-entitled to everything she wants. Even so, the woman is way out of line, and Rei doesn’t feel like Uta deserves this. Because seeing her again obviously upset him greatly, if his demeanour back at the shop is any indication.

 

“Hm, too bad for her.” Rei says light-heartedly. “Since you’re mine now.” She wonders if she should have kept her mouth shut, but the way the corner of his mouth quirks upwards a bit makes her feel better too.

 

“I guess I am.” He says and she laughs. Uta stays the night, and Rei enjoys being cocooned in his embrace, and waking up to finding him with the most ridiculous bed-hair she has ever seen in her life. Her laughter wakes him up, and the sleepy look on his face just makes him look more adorable. She makes them breakfast, brews him some coffee and then they leave together, as she has work early in the morning for once. They walk together down the streets, and part ways when they reach Uta’s shop.

 

“Rei-san.” He catches her hand before she leaves and holds her back.

 

“Yes?”

 

“Thank you, for last night.”

 

“I didn’t do anything.” She blinks, confused, tilting her head.

 

“You listened.” He says before entering his shop and she stares, before moving on.

 

When Rei’s shift is over, and she walks out the door, she ponders if she should go see if Uta is still doing okay or need company, or if she should leave him alone and see if Hitomi or Sayaka wants to spend some time with her. She doesn’t get too far before she has to stop for someone who moved to stand right in front of her. She blinks, looks up and sees the woman from the day before.

 

“We need to talk.” The woman says, eyes narrowing and a scowl twisting her pretty features.

 

Three weeks later, Uta surprises her with a trip to a hot spring. She had held off the weekend because he had insisted on it, but she had not expected him to actually book rooms at a hot spring resort.

 

“Why a hot spring though?” She asks as they walk the 20th ward after a visit to Anteiku, and he shrugs.

 

“You said you haven’t been to one before. I aim to rectify that.” He tells her and she shakes her head.

 

“You’re not going to flex on me now, right? Just because I know you’re Tsumugi-san’s grandson you’re not going to shower me in expensive gifts and stuff, right? I still think that restaurant last week was over the top.”

 

“Not at all. I just want to have a relaxing weekend with you-“ He stops as they pass by a magazine stand, staring at a magazine. Rei stops too, and peers around him only to stop short. On the front cover, there is a picture of her and Uta at that very same restaurant they were at last week, and the texts all over the cover makes the blood drain from her face.

 

“What the _fuck_?” Rei has never heard the soft-spoken florist curse before, and she looks up. He looks confused, and slightly angry. He pulls the magazine out and flicks through the pages, finding the article in question and looking over the article, eyes narrowing the more he reads.

 

“Where the hell did they get this?” He mutters and Rei frowns. She might have an idea, and now she feels foolish for ignoring the threat she received weeks ago.

 

“I… I might know.” Uta turns to look at her, and she shrinks back at the way his eyes are wide and hinting at betrayal, and she hurries to tell him what happened.

 

“Your ex, Kobayashi-san, cornered me after work the night you slept over. In short, she said she’d make my life a hell if I didn’t break up with you.” Rei mutters, biting her lower lip. She never thought the woman would actually do anything, but she’s not sure what this will accomplish.

 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Uta demands.

 

“I didn’t take her seriously.” Rei admits. “I’m sorry, I should have told you, but I really didn’t think you’d like to hear more of her, and I didn’t think she’d go good on her threat. But is it so bad? It’s just one magazine.” Uta shoves the magazine back onto the stand and pulls Rei along.

 

“It won’t just be one.” He mutters. He seems angry, and Rei apologizes but he shakes his head and tells her it isn’t her fault. He does, however, ask her to pack her bags and take a few days off from work early, because they will be leaving in the morning. She thinks that he’s going a bit overboard but doesn’t argue with him on it. Spending a few extra days at the resort sounds lovely either way.

 

And it is. The Hakone Onsen resort is lovely, and she wonders how much this place cost. Their room is spacious, with its own little garden and spring, and all their meals are delivered to them by an employee to their room unless they tell them otherwise. They explore the area together, and Rei buys a few souvenirs for Sayaka and Hitomi, because she knows she’ll hear it if she doesn’t give them this much at least. They explore the woodlands around the hotel, enjoying the fresh air and forgetting everything about Uta’s ex and the magazine coverage. They dine in the restaurant and share stories and talk about mundane things and what they’ve been up to when not being in each other’s presence.

 

They bathe in the hot springs, the steaming water a blessing against the December cold air.

 

“You’re red.” Uta teases and she splashes water at him.

 

“It’s the temperature, shut up.” He splashes water right back at her and she holds her arms up in a pitiful attempt at avoiding it. It’s relaxing, sitting in the warm water and just soaking. Rei likes this, and thinks she’ll have to go to a hot spring resort again some time. It is very relaxing.

 

It’s an enjoyable weekend, and Christmas, that they spend together. When they return home, they have completely forgotten everything about Uta’s ex and her threat towards Rei.

 

A week after they return though, it comes back. Sayaka bangs on the front door to Rei’s apartment early in the morning, and Rei frowns as all three of her kittens jump, yowls and runs away.

 

“Rei-chan! Open the door!” She sounds both out of breath and frantic, so Rei opens the door, looking worried.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“This is what is wrong!” Sayaka says and hands Rei a magazine and the light-haired woman frowns, flipping through the pages and pausing at a page with a huge picture of her getting up from the water in the resort she and Uta just spent their weekend at. She is wearing her swimsuit, because she shared that bath with Uta, but her face burns bright at the sight of the picture. This was in the garden right outside their room, how had the photographers even gotten in there? And then, on the next page, a picture of Kobayashi and Uta, where the former has a grip on his collar and appears to be yanking him down. Their faces are terribly close.

 

Young heir of fashion giant Tsumugi, playing with the hearts of model-star Kobayashi Junko and no-name Fujioka Rei, the headline says.

 

It makes Rei snort to herself. She wonders if Sayaka really believes what the text and photos depict and turns towards her friend, who looks furious. Rei steels herself, ready to defend Uta if she has to, but surprisingly, it is not him Sayaka is angry with.

 

“Those damn paparazzi! Always spinning bullshit about things they don’t know, just to create drama!” Rei blinks and drops the magazine onto the kitchen counter.

 

“I thought for a second that you were here to _defend my honour_ from Uta-san.” She chortles and Sayaka narrows her eyes and grabs Rei’s arms, shaking her.

 

“Uta-san adores you, he’d never do something stupid like that! What I’m worried about is how they’re printing these kinds of photos of you and slandering you and Uta-san!”

 

“Well, I don’t particularly care what other people think, especially not idiots who swallow these stories raw, but I am already feeling annoyed with how the journalists take pictures they have no business with taking, and creating articles like-“ She’s cut off by her phone blaring to life. The screen flashes and Uta’s name stands out in bold letters.

 

“Hello?”

 

“ _Rei-san, have you-“_

 

“Seen the article in Seventeen? Yes, I have.” She says, her voice calm against his slightly distressed tone.

 

“ _It’s not-_ “

 

“What it looks like? I get that.” There’s a silence on the other end, and Rei sighs.

 

“Uta-san, relax. I trust you a whole lot more than that woman or the magazines.” Uta releases a shaky sigh on the other end and Rei’s expression softens.

 

“You were really worried.”

 

“ _Yes.”_

 

“Don’t worry about it. It’s obvious from the photo what is going on, what I _do_ have an issue with, is the photo of me in my swimsuit in our room. _That_ is way out of line. So you’ll have to excuse me, I have to go visit the publishers and have a chat with them.”

 

“ _You can try, but I doubt you’ll get through to them.”_ Uta says on the other end and Rei frowns. Perhaps Uta is right. He is the grandson of Tsumugi, who is often in magazines. He probably grew up with this kind of thing.

 

“What do you propose for me to do?”

 

“ _Granny has a way with dealing with these people. I’ll call and ask her about it.”_

 

“Does she have the time? Isn’t she in Denmark right now?” Rei asks and Uta confirms her statement but says that the while she might be in Denmark and might not be able to do anything, she might have some advice for them on how to handle the situation. She agrees to let him handle it for now, and ends the call.

 

“What did he say?” Sayaka asks and Rei shrugs.

 

“He’ll figure out a way to handle it. He says Tsumugi-san have ways to deal with it, so he’ll ask her for advice. As for the picture of him and Kobayashi-san, framed, as we thought.” Rei tells her, before offering her coffee. They spend some time just chatting, Sayaka wanting all the details of their little trip to the hot spring resort because Rei had absolutely refused to tell them when she gave them the souvenirs she had bought them.

 

“Absolutely not.” Rei laughs, and only tells Sayaka what it was like, being at a resort, and how the area they were in looked like.

 

“I should find myself a man who’ll take me to resorts.” Sayaka sighs and Rei shakes her head.

 

“Find a man who’ll treat you right first. And even so, I know your job pays you enough to go to a resort on your own.” Rei tells her and Sayaka grins.

 

“You’re not wrong.” She admits.

 

They’re half-way through January, and dozens of burned magazine articles later, when Rei is confronted by Kobayashi again. This time Rei can’t force any politeness into her voice when she speaks with the model, because she has no patience with the woman right now.

 

“What do you want?” Rei asks and the model looks down her nose at her, as if being in the white-haired woman’s presence is a bother and Rei feels her brow twitch from just the expression on the model’s face.

 

“I told you to break it off with him.”

 

“I’m pretty sure I told you to mind your own business.” Rei retorts and the woman scowls, pretty features twisting into an ugly snarl.

 

“It is my business who Uta dates. He’s mine.” Rei did believe what Uta told her of his student years, but she also believed that perhaps there was a slight chance his former shallow partners had grown up a little. At least enough to realize that people aren’t objects you can just take back whenever they fancy. But apparently not. Her faith in humanity is not rewarded.

 

“Last time I checked, Uta-san and I are in a committed relationship, which is none of your business.” Rei crosses her arms and raises a brow.

 

“You’re no one, literally no one, and I’m a model. I exist in Uta’s part of society, you don’t. You’re just a student at a university who kept his bed warm while he waited for me to come back.” Rei blinks, before she covers her mouth in an attempt at stopping the laughter bubbling up in her throat. Is this woman for real? Is she really so stupid and full of herself that she can’t understand that what she’s saying is utterly ridiculous?

 

“Are you for real?” Rei manages to breathe out between the chuckles escaping her. “Seriously, are you for real?”

 

“Excuse me?” Kobayashi snaps angrily and Rei takes a deep breath.

 

“You’re delusional. If Uta-san wanted to be with you, he would have broken up with me the moment you walked into his shop. Also, Uta-san is a florist, the only reason he is a celebrity is because he is Yamagata Tsumugi’s grandson. Exactly _how_ am I not a good match for him? How am I not on the same level as him?”

 

“You only want him for his money!”

 

“I began dating him long before I knew who he is. Stop trying to describe me as if I am the same as you. Leave me alone, leave Uta-san alone, and go back to whatever hole you crawled out from.” Rei growls, before moving to walk past the woman, who grabs her arm and yanks her back.

 

“I’m warning you. Having the media follow you for a bit is only the beginning. If you don’t break it off, I can do a whole lot worse.” Rei looks down at the hand holding her and slowly looks up at the model.

 

“Let go of me, right now, Kobayashi-san. I’m not a patient woman, and if you threaten me one more time, I will take action. Don’t think that just because you have money that you can go around forcing people to do what you want.” Rei yanks herself free and keeps walking, ignoring the shouting behind her.

 

The articles aren’t dwindling, and Rei feels it tearing at her mental health. Uta proposes that their dates can happen inside the confines of their homes from now on, until it all dies down. She agrees, and they spend a few enjoyable evenings with old black and white movies and dinner. It takes their minds of the whole thing, until Tsumugi comes back home to Japan, and the two go to visit her.

 

“Hmph, the damn paparazzi can all go burn for all I care.” Is the first thing Tsumugi says as she serves the two tea.

 

“As for how to deal with them, well I’ve got a few ways, and I will have it done by the end of the day, I assure-“

 

“Old hag!” They hear the front door slam open as Asa returns home from school.

 

“I’m busy!” Tsumugi barks out loud enough to echo throughout the giant house but they can hear Asa stomp down the hall, progressively growing louder as she nears the living-room. She is fuming, that much is easy to see, when she enters the room and throws a magazine onto the table.

 

“What the hell is this? I thought you had a deal?” The girl snaps and Tsumugi and the old woman grabs the magazine, flipping through it. Rei finds it disturbing how quickly she turns nearly purple with anger, and wonders what is written in the magazine the older woman is holding. Tsumugi grabs her cane and hops off of the couch, marching out at incredible speed as she calls for her driver to get the car. As she pulled the magazine with her, Rei and Uta are left blinking and curious.

 

“Asa-kun, what was in the magazine?” Uta asks and the teenager rolls her eyes.

 

“There was an article about how I was your next conquest, which is stupid, because we're cousins. Make them stop, yeah? Being stalked by paparazzi all the time is tiring.” Asa says before stalking outside.

 

“She’s not wrong.” Rei mutters and Uta sighs, pulling out his phone and dialling a number. He calls Tsumugi, asks her where she’s going, before humming and ending the call.

 

“I think… our problem will be dealt with shortly.” He says slowly and Rei raises a brow, silently asking him how and Uta shrugs.

 

“According to granny, she had every last one of the magazines covering her success write a contract with her. Until we were twenty, me and Asa-kun, we were to be kept out of any articles. Asa is still only 17, so at least the magazine Seventeen have violated their agreement. Tsumugi is out checking just how many have broken their contracts. Kobayashi-san’s career might be in jeopardy too, since she started the whole thing.”

 

“Normally I’d say _oh dear_ , but you know what? She brought this upon herself.” Rei says with a roll of her eyes. “But if you tell me everything is going to be alright, then I’m willing to just let the matter go.” She feels relief fill her and she slumps onto the couch.

 

“But seriously, if she doesn’t get it that she should leave us alone, if she comes to ‘threaten’ me again, I’ll break her pretty nose.” Uta laughs, not quite understanding that Rei is serious about it, and wraps an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close and resting his chin on the top of her head.

 

“And what if a paparazzi approaches you again?”

 

“I will shove his damn camera down his throat.” She mumbles and he laughs again.

 

“This is one of the many reasons why I love you, Rei-san.” There’s a pause, in which Rei’s eyes widen and her cheeks flush, before she smiles and takes his free hand in hers, rubbing her thumbs over his knuckles. His hands are, surprisingly callous, but she guesses that is from all the work on not only his art, but with flowers too. She wonders how long it took before the thorns of roses no longer stung him. Uta says nothing more, just watches her play with his hand before she looks up at him, grinning.

 

“I love you too, weirdo.”

 

“Ouch.”

 

Kobayashi stops by Uta’s shop one more time a few days later, and Uta is no more inclined to give her the time of day now than he was when she first entered his shop months ago.

 

“Stop seeing her.”

 

“No.” He rejects the model and moves on to water the primroses.

 

“She’s nobody!” The model exclaims angrily and he rolls his eyes.

 

“Yet she’s so much more than you’ll ever be.”

 

“How dare you-“

 

“No.” Uta finally deigns to look at her, and he is far from happy, anyone can see that. “You’re the one who waltzed in here with ridiculous demands in the first place, and you’re acting like a spoiled little brat the moment things don’t go your way. You have no right to come back into my life. I don’t want you here, I don’t need you here, so get out, and don’t come back.”

 

“You’re going to regret it.” Kobayashi says, throwing her hair over her shoulder.

 

“I’ve got ways to make her disappear. I can forcibly remove her if you don’t let her go.” Kobayashi is a petty and shallow woman, and Uta has no doubt that she can find it in herself to do something that will hurt Rei, so he intercepts her before she can leave, slamming the door shut when she attempts to exit the shop. The woman is startled, and even frightened by the glare Uta levels her with.

 

“If you do anything to hurt Rei-san, I will personally make your life a living hell. If anything happens to her, you can kiss your modelling career goodbye.” He growls, before moving back and allowing her to leave. She stands still for a few moments, before she rips open the door and slams it shut behind her in her haste to leave. Uta hopes that is the last he’ll see of her, but who knows.

 

An hour later he gets a call from Rei.

 

“You’re late.” He drawls. "You're still late." 

 

“ _Yeah, I’m sorry, but, um, I’m at the hospital.”_ He stops what he’s doing and furrows his brows.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

_“Yeah, I’m okay, but um…. You remember how I said I’d break Kobayahsi-san’s nose if she threatens me again?”_

_“_ You didn’t…”

 

“ _I did…”_ She does sound ashamed, in her defence, and worried too.

 

_“But I didn’t mean to. I acted on instinct. She literally tried to hit me and I… just defended myself. With my elbow.”_ Uta tries, he really tries, to hold back his laughter but he can’t, because the image he’s conjuring to himself is just too funny.

 

_“It’s not funny!”_

 

“It kind of is. Do you want me to come pick you up?”

 

“ _… Yes, please.”_ He tells her he’s on his way and once he’s locked the door to his shop, his grandmother calls. He can hear Asa laughing loudly in the background, but Tsumugi does not sound pleased.

 

“ _It’s all over the news, what Fujioka Rei did.”_

 

“Yes, she just called me herself. She is very sorry and-“ Uta tries to placate his grandmother but she cuts him off.

 

“ _Marry that girl.”_ Uta promptly chokes on his spit, and Asa’s laughter grows even louder before his grandmother ends the call.


End file.
